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Cowichan Coffee Time: River celebration, Trivia Challenge, Growing Together

• Cowichan Tribes and the Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable hosted a celebration event for the Cowichan River to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation and the importance and value of this Canadian Heritage River.
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New Growing Together Executive Director Laura Court is greeted by Board Chair Gerry Molnar. (submitted)

• Cowichan Tribes and the Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable hosted a celebration event for the Cowichan River to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation and the importance and value of this Canadian Heritage River.

At a riverside site on Cowichan Tribes land, about 500 people attended the event to honour the river and the hundreds of volunteers dedicated to protecting it. Activities included kayak and canoe demonstrations and dozens of kids got to paddle in provided boats. There were bird talks, nature walks and displays from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on the life cycle of salmon. Traditional spear fishing was demonstrated and DFO demonstrated salmon fry monitoring to fascinated crowds.

Many of the younger citizens enjoyed the games and hands-on activities that included creating their very own salmon art. There was a display from the local Raptors Centre where people could get up close and personal with an owl, a vulture and a kestrel. There were displays of weaving and cedar work as well as information booths from several NGOs and Catalyst Paper, the region’s largest employer.

Local MP Alistair MacGregor, MLA Sonia Furstenau and former Federal fisheries minister David Anderson, who was instrumental in getting the Heritage designation for the Cowichan, all spoke at the gathering. Many Cowichan Tribes Elders attended and enjoyed the day.

PHOTO GALLERY

• Sahtlam Neighbourhood Association’s team of eight has won Literacy Now Cowichan’s third annual Team Trivia Challenge in their first attempt.

The event held this year at Cowichan Golf and Country Club raised more than $2,100 for non-profit LNC, who work one-to-one with people in the Cowichan region seeking to improve their literacy.

“Thank you Literacy Now Cowichan for a great afternoon matching wits with some of the sharpest minds in the Valley. What a great way to raise funds and to promote and celebrate literacy in the Cowichan Valley,” said Sahtlam Neighbourhood Association’s Isabel Rimmer.

Rimmer confirmed SNA will be back next year to defend their title.

Trivia Newton-Johns, a team composed mainly of Cowichan Valley School District employees placed second. Rounding out the top three places was The French Connection, a team of mostly parents of former French Immersion students.

For three hours last Sunday, seven teams ranging in size from four to eight, dusted off their brains to respond correctly to questions like: In the classic Canadian short story “The Hockey Sweater”, all the village boys wear the number 9 Montreal Canadiens jersey of what NHL all-time great?

The name of what durable metal element originates in Swedish and means ‘heavy stone’?

“Thanks so much to our supporters in the community,” said LNC Chair Barb de Groot. “The money raised will go directly towards helping people improve their literacy so they can move forward — whether it be to upgrade reading so they can complete high school; to enter skills training or an apprenticeship program; or to become comfortable enough with a computer to fill in required government forms.”

At least half of the participants were returning players, noted LNC Executive Director Kathleen Erickson, who emceed throughout the afternoon.

“This speaks to their enthusiasm for the event and, in turn, they brought their friends as newbie players,” she added. “There was a lot of team spirit as well with a couple of groups dressing the part in costumes or matching t-shirts. Cowichan Golf Club was a great venue and our thanks go out to Cory and his team for all their help making this event such a great success.”

Local non-profit organization LNC pairs highly trained volunteer tutors one-on-one with more than 300 adults per year searching to upgrade their literary skills in areas like reading, writing, math, computer basics, smart phones and tablets, speaking and writing in the English language for immigrants, budgeting money, job search and job readiness skills.

Answers to the questions above: Maurice “Rocket” Richard, and Tungsten.

• Growing Together Child & Parent Society announced that Laura Court has taken the post of executive director with the group.

She is a former co-ordinator for the “Success by 6” childcare program.

Former executive director Ocean Kneeland accepted an offer to become the chair of Early Childhood Education and Care at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.

Growing Together’s annual general meeting was held at the Cairnsmore facility on Oct. 2. Along with Kneeland, two other directors Marilyn Bright and Katherine Barwick, also bid the group farewell.

“Both women have played a vital role in the continuation and development of our daycare and early childhood education mission,” the group said. “However, we are very pleased to welcome four new board members to GT.”

Barb deGroot has come back to the board. She is the current chair of Literacy Now Cowichan and has been on the board in years past as well as serving as liaison when she sat on the school board.

Toni Williams has joined the GT board. She is the Youth Centre manager at Cowichan Tribes and the mother of two young daughters.

As well, Anne Robinson is joining the GT board. She has extensive experience in the childcare world as well as a very broad range of valuable work experience.

Kneeland also joined the board as a director.

Karolyn Sherman, Erin Generous and Gerry Molnar were re-elected as board members.

The annual general meeting was also an opportunity to thank those who contributed over the past year, and No. 1 on that list was staff.

Throughout the past year GT received numerous donations of time and materials ranging from handmade blankets and pyjamas to donations of books and clothes for children, to volunteer time dedicated to processing fruit and planting native shrubs. Thanks went out to Roberta, Shona, Maggie, Bergetha, Shane, Felicia, Clara, the folks at Telus, the Rotary Club of Duncan – Daybreak, board members, and many other community members who contributed in one way or another to support the young parent families in our community.

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Some teams even donned coordinated costumes at the Trivia Challenge. (submitted)